For better or worse, hospital rankings influence how health systems are perceived by referring physicians. Earning a coveted spot on the U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” list brings national attention and expands your referral base.
However, many excellent hospitals never receive that kind of recognition. These hospitals may be the best choice for some patients, but their strengths are overlooked in the rankings. In other cases, low rankings draw attention to areas that need improvement without providing any context about the many factors that can affect a hospital’s overall performance.
Because rankings reduce complex procedures and services to a number, they don’t explain the trade-offs that health systems must sometimes make in order to ensure the highest quality care for their patients.
Email Tells the Whole Story
Although rankings may affect a potential referrer’s first impressions, health systems can alter those impressions by sharing additional information about their staff, procedures, and facilities with targeted physicians. Communicating directly via email is the most effective way to get these messages across to the right audiences.
Whether your challenge is to explain the context that contributes to a lower ranking, mobilize staff to implement improvements, or ensure that valuable referrers are aware of a high ranking, targeted email offers an efficient solution.
Focused Messages for Targeted Audiences
Our new ebook includes case studies that illustrate each of these rankings-related email scenarios:
- Redefining Low Rankings. Sometimes low rankings highlight a real need for improvement. Other times, they may simply reflect organizational differences or inaccuracies in the ranking methodology. Email lets you explain your position and give physicians the chance to reconsider.
- Tackling Deficiencies. Low rankings can be considered a risk, but they also present an opportunity to make necessary improvements. Health systems can use email to galvanize medical teams around internal objectives and to share successes as they are achieved.
- Sharing Good News Strategically. There are plenty of ways to share good news, but some are more effective for generating referrals. Segmenting your audience precisely and then focusing your messages according to the specific interests of each group typically has the greatest impact.
